Technical Information

Piece

*/d_piece 1000093

Piece Title

Kochō

Plot Summary

A traveling priest from Mt. Yoshino visits Kyoto, the capital. At an ancient palace he spots extremely beautiful plum blossoms. While he is admiring the beautiful blossoms, a woman approaches him and describes to him events in the past that took place at the palace. She then reveals that she is the spirit of a butterfly who wants to attain enlightenment so she can flit freely among the plum blossoms. A villager, the ai-kyôgen, appears and reaffirms the woman’s identity, the glorious past history of the palace, and the extraordinary beauty of the plum blossoms. In part two the butterfly manages to attain enlightenment thanks to the prayer of the priest. She performs a dance to celebrate her new identity and changes into the Bodhisattva of Song and Dance before disappearing.